


The Interview

by castielofasgard



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Accidental Coming Out, Clint is a Disaster, Clint is bi, Gen, M/M, Talk Shows, Tina is sorta based on Joan Callamezzo from Parks and Rec, Twitter, implied Steve/Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 12:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7171277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielofasgard/pseuds/castielofasgard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint grudgingly agrees to do an interview on a morning talk show. Needless to say, it doesn't go as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Interview

**Author's Note:**

> y'know i honestly don't know why i wrote this. i didn't have any, like, actual burst of inspiration. i just had the rant. and the rest of the fic formed around it. enjoy!

Clint really did not want to do this interview. He didn’t like the spotlight. This was a job for Tony or Steve, someone who was used to this shit. But they had specifically asked for him. Something about wanting to highlight the unsung heroes of the Avengers. Whatever. Clint didn’t want it. 

He hated these morning shows, and especially Tina Meyers’ show. He’d watched about half a dozen of her interviews on Youtube as soon as he’d grudgingly accepted the offer, and all of them had ended in humiliation. She’d ask some leading question and whoever she was interviewing would inevitably fall into the trap and say something embarrassing or controversial or private, and the rest of the week would be filled with news articles ranting about the scandal. Clint wasn’t gonna fall into that trap though. He was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and a spy. He’d dance around it like the pro he was.

Of course, the morning of the interview had to go anything but smoothly. He overslept and barely had time to shower and get dressed. He would’ve gone to the interview with his shirt inside out and his tie backward if Pietro hadn’t stopped him. He didn’t have time for his morning coffee, so he was groggy, and he’d barely gotten to eat half a bagel during the taxi ride to the studio. He arrived ten minutes before air time, much to the exasperation of the makeup artists (another thing he hated about this interview: makeup). Finally he vaulted himself into the armchair on stage with two minutes to spare.

“Thanks for agreeing to come on, I’m really looking forward to this,” Tina said, smiling a wide and not entirely genuine smile.

“Yeah, no problem,” said Clint, even though it was definitely a problem.

The director signaled them and Tina immediately went into host mode.

“Good morning, America! Welcome to Morning Tea! I’m Tina Meyers, and today I’ve got an extra special guest. I promised you guys I’d get you an Avenger this year and man, have I delivered. Here with me this morning is Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye!”

The studio audience applauded and Clint waved awkwardly. Tina turned to him.

“So Clint, tell me. What’s it like being a superhero?” she asked.

“Well, that’s a pretty open question,” Clint chuckled. “I mean… well, it’s cool, I guess. God, sorry, that makes it sound like I don’t enjoy it. I do. Okay, lemme start over. Being a superhero is exhausting. You fight your ass off to save the world, sometimes against an entire army, when you’ve just got, like… ten people on your side. And sometimes it’s terrifying. You’re up against aliens and robots and sh-… stuff. But still. The world needs saving.”

“And is it worth it?” Tina asked.

“Yeah. Totally.”

“You must feel a lot of pressure. Some people resent you, but most people look up to you guys. You’re symbols of hope and safety to the people you saved. Some might say you’re even idolized. How do you handle that?”

“You just try to stay focused on the job, I guess, it’s the only real way to handle it.”

Clint paused a moment, considering.

“Actually, you know what, I’ve got something to say about that,” he said. “You say we’re idolized. It’s true. People put us up on this pedestal, like we’re supposed to be perfect heroes and never screw up. But we’re not perfect. We’re people, just like all of you. We’ve got our problems and flaws. We _do_ screw up. And because of who we are and the often catastrophic consequences of our screw-ups, that weighs on us a lot more than the average scolding from your boss. 

“And fighting these villains and monsters to save you all, it ain’t easy. It’s terrifying and violent and we’ve all got trauma because of it. We all have days where we can’t even get out of bed in the morning. Hell, just a couple weeks ago, the team were all asking ‘hey, where’s Clint?’, and my boyfriend had to tell them ‘he just couldn’t face the world today’. 

“But nobody wants to hear about all that because we’re superheroes and we’re supposed to be these symbols. So yeah, we try to focus on the job. It’s the only way we can cope when the world expects us to be fucking saints.”

Tina looked alarmed, but she played it off by turning a dazzling smile to the camera.

“We’re getting the inside scoop on life as a superhero from Hawkeye himself. Stick around for more!”

“And, cut to commercials,” the director said.

Clint noticed Tina let out a heavy sigh before she turned to him.

“Um, Mister Barton…” she said quietly. “I feel I should remind you that we _are_ on live television, so you shouldn’t swear.”

“Right. Sorry,” said Clint. “Sorry about that whole thing actually, that was… quiet a bit more than I expected.”

“It’s fine,” said Tina. “Just as long as you don’t swear again.”

She winked and flashed another barely genuine smile, then picked up the papers on the table next to her and started flicking through her notes. The makeup artists swarmed onto the stage to give them both touchups and Clint sat in uncomplaining silence, his stomach churning nervously. He’d sworn he wouldn’t fall into any of the classic Tina Meyers traps, but he’d just already word-vomited completely of his own accord. She barely even set him up. If anything, he just set Tina up to set him up even worse. 

The makeup artists scattered and the director called places. Clint took a sip of water and fidgeted in his seat, then the director signaled and Tina beamed at the camera once again.

“Welcome back to Morning Tea with Tina Meyers!” she said. “I’m talking to Clint Barton of the Avengers today about the life of a superhero.”

She turned to Clint again and he attempted a smile, which he really hoped didn’t look as forced as it was.

“So before the commercial break, you were telling me about the expectations placed on the Avengers,” she said. “Speaking of expectations, you also mentioned that you have a boyfriend. Not what we expected from the strong and silent sharpshooter!”

Clint blanched. _Shit_. He had just accidentally come out on national television and he hadn’t even realized it. Well, there was no backing out now.

“Yeah, um… I’ve got a boyfriend,” he said, trying to sound casual.

“So Captain America and the Winter Soldier aren’t the only gay heroes in Avengers Tower after all!”

“Well, technically I’m not gay,” said Clint. “I’m actually bi. So’s Cap. But yeah. Like I said, we’re just normal people.”

“This boyfriend of yours. Is he on the team too?” Tina asked.

Clint laughed uncomfortably.

“I don’t think he’d appreciate me telling the entire country who he is.”

“Well then, I guess you’re just gonna leave us all guessing!”

Clint felt vaguely ill.

“Please don’t,” he said meekly.

“Let’s talk more about life in Avengers Tower,” Tina continued.

Oh thank God, she was changing the subject.

“That must be pretty crazy having so many heroes living under one roof. Can you give us an idea of what it’s like?”

“Well, you’re right, it’s pretty crazy,” said Clint. “I mean, we’ve all got our own space and the building is huge, so if you really wanted to, you could probably go all day without seeing anyone. As long as you’re really selective about when you go to get food. There’s practically always _someone_ in the kitchen.”

Tina laughed.

“We’re gonna play a little game with this,” she said. “I’m gonna ask you a question about life in the Tower, and you’re gonna say which Avenger does that thing the most.”

“Okay…”

“Most likely to forget their laundry in the dryer?”

“Oh god, they’d all say it’s me…” said Clint. “But I’d say… okay, yeah it’s me.”

“Most likely to leave the empty milk carton in the fridge?”

“Me,” Clint sighed defeatedly. “Or Barnes. But he does it on purpose.”

“Most likely to bake cookies in the middle of the night?”

Clint laughed.

“That actually happens more than you’d think,” he said. “And it is literally always Sam Wilson.”

“Really?” said Tina.

“Yeah, he’s a stress baker. And we’re all very stressful people to live with. You can tell that Steve Rogers has done something stupid recently if you go into the kitchen at one in the morning and find Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes drinking vodka on the floor and waiting for the cookies to bake.”

Tina laughed.

“Speaking of vodka,” she segued. “Most likely to drink everyone under the table?”

“Oh man, that’s not even fair,” said Clint. “We’ve got two super soldiers and a demigod. They can’t even get drunk on the booze of mere mortals. So… not counting them… god, I dunno, we are _not_ a team of lightweights… y’know, probably Natasha.”

 

Tina did a very good job of distracting Clint from his rant. It wasn’t until he was in the taxi, halfway home, that he even remembered it had happened. A pit of dread sank in his stomach and he suddenly was worried about what sort of chaotic, multi-person scolding he was going to receive when he walked in the door. He knew he could count on Pietro getting on him about coming out on TV without warning or discussion. But just how pissed were the others going to be?

The taxi pulled up outside Avengers Tower and Clint payed the driver before heading inside. The elevator ride up to the living room, where he knew the others would still be after watching the interview, was grueling. He watched the little numbers change with each level, his anxiety spiking higher the closer he got. Finally the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. He stepped out and walked down the hall to the living room.

The others were waiting there, sitting in silence. Clint felt like a naughty child who had been called to the principal’s office to find his parents waiting disappointedly. They all looked up as he entered the room and flopped down onto the sofa next to Pietro.

“Okay. Let me have it,” he said. “One at a time though, please. I still haven’t had coffee.”

“That was really stupid,” said Steve.

“What, not having coffee?” Clint joked half-heartedly.

Steve gave him a look.

“You know what I mean,” he said.

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

“You shouldn’t have said any of it,” Steve continued. “It was stupid and abrasive and just generally a really bad idea.”

“I know.”

“That being said, I fucking love you for it.”

Clint stared at him.

“What.”

“Clint, I’m Captain America,” said Steve. “I have been idolized for over seventy years. And it is exhausting. So the professional side of me is pissed at you. But mostly I’m thrilled.”

“Well, you’re welcome,” said Clint. 

“It was still stupid though,” said Natasha.

“I know. And I’m sorry. It just sorta… spilled out.”

“Speaking of things spilling out,” said Pietro.

“Oh no, here we go,” Clint sighed.

“I’m guessing you didn’t intend to come out in front of thousands of people, seeing as just a few days ago you were telling me you weren’t ready to go public yet.”

“No, that was definitely an accident.”

“Well, I appreciate you not outing me in the process,” said Pietro, taking his hand. “And I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry too,” said Clint. “Actually I’m sorry to every man in this room, because now I’m not going to be able to be seen in public with _any_ of you without the press thinking we’re dating.”

“Well, you’re always looking for an excuse to never leave the house,” Pietro teased.

“Oh hey, Barton, guess what,” said Tony suddenly, looking at his phone.

“Oh no.”

“You’re trending on Twitter.”

Clint groaned.

“Not only that, but about half the top trending list is in some way related to you and the Meyers interview.”

“I hate the 21st century,” Clint said.

“You know, a lot of this is actually super supportive,” said Tony. “There’s a whole ‘Bi Hawkeye’ hashtag…”

“No no no, you’re not actually looking at that stuff,” Clint said.

“No seriously, there are some super nice tweets,” said Tony. “See, look.”

He tossed his phone across the room to Clint, who caught it one-handed without breaking the laser-focused glare he had aimed at Tony. With a resigned sigh, Clint looked down to read the tweets:

 

_Another Avenger just came out! Yay LGBT+ superheroes! #BiHawkeye #Pride_

_Hawkeye looked really uncomfortable on Tina Meyers. Hope he’s ok #BiHawkeye_

_Wow this #BiHawkeye tag is blowing up #Pride_

_#BiHawkeye bc fuck stereotypes_

_Idk if Barton meant to say that o.O Shame on u @TeaWithTina for exploiting #BiHawkeye_

_Best wishes to #BiHawkeye and his lucky man! ;)_

_It’s nice to know people like you can be heroes #BiHawkeye_

 

Clint stared down at the phone in his hands, watching as dozens more tweets flooded in. There were a couple of unpleasant ones, but the number of supportive messages far outnumbered the bad. Clint felt a lump forming in his throat in spite of himself. His eyes kept being drawn back to the same tweet – “ _It’s nice to know people like you can be heroes_ ”. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard, then looked up at Tony.

“Is this logged in on your account?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Can I, um… use it to reply to one of these? I don’t have a Twitter, so…”

“Sure. Of course,” said Tony.

“Thanks.”

Clint clicked on the tweet and typed up his reply:

_@sarahelizabeth Like I said, we’re just like you. Thanks for the support -Clint._


End file.
